NW Portland stuck bus on Thurman

Videos of a stuck 15 bus.

Video 1:

Video 2:

Happy snowfall!

Nagoh Evad (a little backwards)

So, my name basically means beloved young. Okay.

I also kicked Goliath's ass, and beat down the Michalites and the Jebusites too. (You might think I'm kidding, not Jesus, but Jebus was a good guy too. Very Jewish though, and I conquered them!)

Yay Jebus!

A National VMT tax? Now with more tracking!

Earl Blumenauer is once again talking about about switching to a VMT tax rather than (or in addition to) a gas tax, this time at the federal level. Yes this would be a pilot program (full details here), but it will cost over $150 million to do the pilot program. It would also require drivers to have a GPS tracking device in their car, which opens a number of privacy concerns.

The article above fortunately mentions that some of his biggest campaign contributors are Honeywell International and Accenture. Honeywell is an RFID manufacturer (RFID is part of the GPS program) and Accenture is a leader in video tolling technology.

Blumenauer has his own political action committee as well, the Committee for a Livable Future, and Honeywell just happens to be the second largest contributor to them as well. He's best known for being very pro-streetcar (including bringing jobs to a Portland-area businesses under the "Buy American" guise) and pro-bicycle, but I don't think it's a coincidence that he's pushing for something that is so anti-civil liberties that will just happen to benefit major campaign contributors.

Slashdot has a great discussion about the topic as well. I understand his concern about potentially dwindling tax revenues from having more fuel-efficient cars, but pushing for a tracking system does not seem like something that I could see people supporting.

There are also numerous potential technical problems with the proposal, but there are also a number of Pacific Northwest businesses (hint: Garmin acquired Morrow, an avionics-related company started in Salem, and Garmin employs people in Newport, Salem and Portland) that would likely see a large windfall from this coming through. I have to wonder if his motives are in any way legitimate, or just based on making money for contributors to keep him in office.

This is not a test of the emergency broadcast system

The Station Fire might be impressive, but that impressed me almost more. Something like palm trees and radio towers et al. Only, you know, not in German.

Once again, the hills of Los Angeles are burning.

Glenn Beck's Saga Continues

So (yawn) Glenn Beck is wasting America's time, once again. Is he misleading? Probably. Some blogs are comparing him to Joseph McCarthy. That's not a compliment, regardless of what he thinks. It's a good thing that he's respectful of 9/11 by having his minions act on 9/12 instead.

Mr. Beck may be innocent, but that can't be proven definitively yet. He is still refusing to discuss the matter, without his lawyers suing for trademark infringement, but he sure likes to make others look guilty. Fark, in all its glory, seems to be the root cause of this unproven meme.

Obviously people accusing him of raping a murdering a girl in 1990 are satirizing him in the same way that he attacks others, but it's still absurd he hasn't just dismissed these accusations yet. It does seem like the same smear campaign he's engaged against others. And of course, he's fighting it.

Of course, rape and murder aren't funny, but Glenn Beck's career seems to be getting raped and murdered anyway. His number of advertisers is going down like a pederast in a boy's school.

He may burn for this. Especially if he's unable to just discuss it like a rational adult, which may be beyond his abilities. I almost have sorrow for him.

NFL week one

It was a fun week to watch the NFL so far. The 3-2 score in the Sunday Night Game between the Packers and da Bears was entertaining while it lasted, Minnesota was fun to watch beating Cleveland, but unfortunately the only late-afternoon game we got live here in Portland was Seattle vs St Louis. I was really hoping for 0-0 there.

Hopefully the Bills and the Chargers make it entertaining tomorrow. If only I had ESPN so I could watch it.

And I really hope you all caught the end of the Denver game. That was an amazing catch.

What's up Glenn Beck?

So Glenn Beck is disputing the claims that he's a rapist and murderer. It's about time he addressed these baseless concerns (that have shown up on Fark and other sites), but the ways he's doing it using various trademark laws may still leave concerns in the minds of some who haven't heard the whole story yet.

It really isn't a believable story, but the fact he hasn't discussed it in the slightest, other than leaving a layer of lawsuits is disconcerting. Even sites of a questionable nature are covering it. He obviously (in the minds of some) manipulates the truth and might make his viewers think that things that aren't the truth are, but that doesn't make him as evil as the person some claim he is.

The claims of his evilness come from the lack of his dismissing this all as just a large load of BS, which it seems to be, but it would be nice if he would attack the accusations instead of the accusers in long form, much like he's asking Obama to do.

Obviously Mr. Beck is probably an upstanding citizen, but it is unfortunate that he (as of yet) has not disputed these claims without using his legal teams to attack a blog rather than just simply stating how false these accusations are.

Return from Seattle

After helping my friend move up to Seattle this weekend, I've got some new pictures to post on my Flickr account. Here's a quick preview of Mount Rainier from the Amtrak train I'm on:

And the Columbia Center from the King St Station:

It was a great weekend up there, and I'll have more pictures to post soon. Sorry about the dirt on the windows, I can't get outside to clean them.

Cleaning out the fridge

I just was trying to figure out what to eat, and took inventory of my refrigerator. It dawned on me that the refried beans and mashed potatoes weren't going to last too much longer. I also had burrito shells.

Also for the first time in a while, I had a few eggs in the fridge. I don't normally eat scrambled eggs, and haven't made them in years, but I have some time to kill tonight so I did what any geek would do. I went to YouTube to try to find a 'better' way of making them. I found a method by Gordon Ramsey, so I decided to run with that. They were awesome (though I left out a few ingredients I didn't have, and substituted in garlic salt.)

Added in a bunch of hot salsa, cheddar cheese, beans, and mashed potatoes. Nothing fancy, and common leftovers around me. I was pleasantly shocked how tasty the combo ended up being.

So now you know, next time you have leftover beans and mashed potatoes, there's a nice burrito that can be made.

40 Years Today

It's been 40 years since we first walked on the moon today. CNN has coverage, and it made me wonder why the stimulus doesn't have any money set aside to speed up getting America back in space after the shuttles are retired. A few billion more this year and next I'd hope could help get things moving.

Transportation Funding in Congress

Just saw an interesting article from Yahoo about funding for the Essential Air Service program. Apparently it's getting a lot more funding, including for some reason routes like Buffalo NY to Jamestown NY, which isn't more than a 90 minute drive.

There's definitely a need for these services for many areas, but it sounds like there's a bit of waste involved as well.

Also in the article is a mention of another $4 billion of federal funding for high speed rail, in addition to the $8 billion set aside in the stimulus package. Hopefully Washington and Oregon can get enough of that to significantly speed up the Cascades route. I know Washington's mostly ready to go, but Oregon probably has dragged our feet too long to get much.

And now from China

Check out http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=794_1245730574 to see how the Internet is again showing people the inside of a suppressive regime. I wonder what else the Internet can deliver?

George Will: Die Already, Please?

Portland is trying to keep screwing with George Will for being a liar. I love Portland Transport, but sorry about the shite reporting. It's what you get from people who think ducks are news.

George Will Hates Portland

Newsweek is running a piece by George Will about Ray LaHood liking Portland and why liberals hate cars. It's really quite entertaining, as it's painfully obvious throughout the piece that George Will has never been to Portland, and probably only knows of us as Little Beirut.

One of the best moments of the piece is when he speculates, "Does he think 0.01 percent of Americans will ever regularly bike to work?" According to a 2007 article it's about .4 percent already.

He may want to take a look at the Pearl District. It's an upscale, urban neighborhood built around a streetcar. It nothing but warehouses and rail lines just 15 years ago, and not the type of neighborhood you'd want to be in unless you were looking for drugs or whores.


The Pearl District Now

As for his claims about how everyone needs a car, well, I don't. If I really do need one Enterprise will pick me up, or I can use ZipCar which has several sites near my neighborhood.

2009 Eurovision Song Contest Final

So I had never heard of this before, but CNN had an article about protests outside it earlier today. The official site has some background, as well as a live webcast I've now been watching most of the afternoon. Balkan Girls Like to Party Like Nobody by the Romanian group was quite amusing though. The swing-pop German and dance/techno Ukraine musicians were by far the most entertaining, each for their own reason. Hopefully they'll put some of these on their YouTube Channel. Some of the acts were very unique.

Edited to add props to the Finnish fire dancers and musicians. I've never seen Scandinavian rap before, and it's just crazy...

NY Times

So, the NY Times has made a stand about Frugal Portland. It's the Frugal Traveler in Portland, making for more fun than expected. We're Portland. We do that.

The New Old Lompoc and Ground Kontrol made it.

Dave Hogan?

There are a lot of Dave Hogan's on the plant. It happens, I have a common Irish name. Shhh, it happens. I've even had accounts hacked over it. I was once sued over my name. 37 Dave's. Oh well.

At my last job I ran into a Dan Hogan who works for Galaxy Hotel Systems. I never actually met or talked to him, but with dhogan as an email address people thought I knew him well.

Nope.

I do find this fascinating.

I also don't know the Dave Hogan who raises the dead, I'm not a 44 year old photographer (yet), I'm not CIO of the Nation Retail Federation, I'm not Dave Hogan Music, I'm not an airport guy (in that way), etc.

I'm just Dave Hogan.

Interstate 505 (Portland, Oregon)

I-505 was never built in Portland, but it still effected large parts of NW Portland in ways that can still easily be seen in the form of ghost ramps and other remnants. Many condos and other such properties have been built on land that was sat on for a while in anticipation of the freeway.


All pictures taken by me, 2009.

Fortunately, Portland came to it's senses before it was built, and instead routed the route along NW Yeon/US-30 instead of NW St Helens via NW Thurman/Vaughn as had been planned. The 1966 Comprehensive Plan shows it extending along this path, for example. This link has more information about Portland's planning past.



The Interstate Mileage was returned to the national system, and US-30 got a reasonable path that doesn't destroy any neighborhoods and still serves regional needs. The US-30 approach ramps to I-405/the Fremont Bridge are the most obvious legacy portions of the roadway other than the ramp stubs on the way to NW Vaughn/Yeon.



Good thing Portland thought things out, or else we'd probably not have this city we have now. I'll take a streetcar over a freeway through what's now my apartment any day.

Amazon.com Trebuchet

I love a good product warning, but the ones on this page on Amazon for a trebuchet kit are some of the best ever.

Product Features

* Lay Siege To The Doghouse! Right after you build your own working medieval trebuchet.

* All you'll need is glue, scissors, a steady hand, and a small bag of marbles or rocks as a counterweight to construct this wooden, Canadian-made siege engine kit.

* The finished trebuchet will be 26" long x 18" wide x 24" tall and will propel stuff (meatballs?) 20 feet or more, depending upon the stuff. Includes detailed instructions.

* Note: Please don't propel small mammals, and please don't put anyone's eye out.

It's about time someone worries about the small mammals. I bet this thing couldn't even launch a groundhog five feet.

New Coke

New Coke first was released 14 years ago today. One of most famous corporate failures of recent past. Some thought it was going to mark the end of the Great Cola Wars, but it just kept going with Harrier Jumpjets and other great moments of failure.

Go Bills and Sabres and Blazers; oh my!

So, I was raised with the Bills and the Sabres. Don't fuck with them, they're good mammals, just not championship mammals.

Now, I hope to hope for the Blazers. They're trying hard, and may not be my team yet, but I want to like them.

Nope, I don't know basketball, but at least I'm not qualified to play for them.

High Speed Rail, Baby!

President Obama unveiled his administration's blueprint for a new national network of high-speed passenger rail lines Thursday, saying such an investment is necessary to reduce traffic congestion, cut dependence on foreign oil and improve the environment.

The president's plan identified 10 potential high-speed intercity corridors for federal funding, including California, the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, the Southeast, the Gulf Coast, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and New England.

Here's the plan:



Go Pac NW (aka NW Corridor), Go!

Oh, and the California route makes a lot of sense. And the NE one. And the SE one. Well, all of them...

Google Earth Historical Imagery - part 2

So, I found a great source of historical imagery from Buffalo, NY. The coolest part is watching the NY State Thruway (I-90) getting built from south of Walden Dr (open space that's now the Walden Galleria Mall) to about Main St (NY 5), as well as the old downtown.

I'm wondering why Google Earth hasn't found sources like this to use? They also have a 1920's version of the region. I haven't seen anything that old on Google Earth yet.

Sets also exist for Detroit and other areas. It would be nice to see Google update to include more sources.

Google Earth Historical Imagery

So, I've recently become hooked on Google Earth's Historical Imagery. There's a lot of interesting things that can be found in it. The jet I posted before is one of them.

Another that I just noticed is Mt St Helens, north of Vancouver, WA. If you watch the northwest face of the mountain over the time span they allow (8/94 to 3/09) you can see the trees re-growing.

I never would have checked for that if not for the Swiss/Italian border issues coming up, but it inspired me to look in my own backyard.

There are other areas that are fun to watch too. Malls, for example just keep growing. South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa CA, Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga NY or the Galleria in Houston TX.

All have seen profound growth nearby, and the growth of they and the areas around them can be easily seen in Google Earth. For anyone who is a fan of Edge City it's an interesting thing to see.

Get With the Times.org

So, something new I'm working with is Get With the Times.org, and the Cascadia Times. Please stop over, Paul is a great author and it's great to be working with him.

We have a great new issue about to come out, and I hope that you'll find it interesting. We love feedback!

A jet

So, here's a jet I found on Google Earth. Yes, a jet over a freeway interchange. I'm pretty sure it was I-4/I-95 in Florida.

$40/mo heavier

So, I had to add service to get Comcast to let me drop services outside 9-5. Yes, I have a phat pipe, but why should I have to lie to talk to someone and reduce my monthly bill from them?

It saves me $40/mo, and I still have a nice good internet connection but I'll have check out my local phone Co's. It's Verizon or Qwest, and I'm not a fan of either, but I don't like needing to redial my phone co and to lie to make things work out with a happy customer.

Comcast

So, first call I was sent to a message about nobody being available and needing to call during business hours. Of course, this was to downgrade, as I chose through the menu.

Now I'm being connected to a rep to add service. Same options, but let's see if someone can help me save some money.

Of course, I'm put on hold immediately so I can buy something. Great work Comcast. Next, I'll ask what they can do to cut my bill down. Let's see if they can remove cable TV and cable phone for me.

(It's 2012 and I still am not paying for regular service.  I just can't justify the costs.)

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

So, shit happens sometimes, but the Seattle PI is shutting down, that's not good. I've been a fan for a while (full disclosure, the Seattle Times had a letter from me, once.)

I lived in San Diego when I read them most, but since moving to Portland I've read them a bit as well. It's unfortunate that the press (as the first amendment calls them) is failing, but they have to walk into the new millenia. It seems that some sites are doing so, and some are not.

I hope the Cascadia Times can achieve such greatness, or at least survival on the web.

Thanks for stopping by

So, this is the start of, well, not much so far. I'm Dave Hogan, and in the middle of this recession/depression, I just decided to give my two weeks notice. My car was stolen, and after almost seven years of doing the same thing, I've decided I'm leaving my job.

So what am I doing? Well, the Cascadia Times is a new project I'm working with. Progress might be a little slow at first, but we have some great content and have some new things coming. If you like the Arctic, Inuits, and polar bears there's some great stuff coming!

I'm available for other contracts and have an extensive IT background to fall back on. Feel free to contact me and we can talk, but I like the idea of working with a non-profit for now.

I haven't been the best mammal for the environment, and I'd like to make amends there too. Going car-free and working for a 501(c)(3) sounds like something I can do for now.